Determined Training
by Ottokatalog
Summary: Guy's trainings routine applied to his entire team. Add in some schemes, conflicting character traits and much time spent together, some noticeworthy situations are bound to happen. AU, Team Guy
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer:_ Don't own it. Is that enough to qualify as a disclaimer?

**Chapter 1**

Things were good.

Peace and prosperity were preserved for the longest time in recent history, safety could almost be guaranteed for most of the population.

The ancient Hokage felt an well-deserved sense of accomplishment, most of this stuff were greatly influenced by his doing; brokering alliances, suppressing threats, investing in the right companies, extensive information gathering...

He was ready to start reaping some of his earnings. A little idea in the back of his head which came back to him at it's convenience - a little something he was ready to present to his fellow rulers and pseudo-rulers, the council, his teammates, and even, to his disliking, that old coot Danzo.

He was certain his delightful plans were to be implemented, his experience would help to it.

For the sake of his great village and all it's inhabitants, he would push through.

* * *

'_Must not fall asleep. Have to pay attention. Must not fall asleep...'_

Like a chant, this thoughts were spinning around in young Rock Lee's head. He was up all night practicing last night and only managed to cramp in two or three hours of sleep instead of his regular schedule of solid eight hours. He just barely managed to come into the Academy at time! Just a few seconds saved him from a little rebuke, which he just had to avoid. His abysmal marks allowed for no other inconveniences, be it as minuscule as coming to late.

But this extra practice lesson was definitely worth it.

Last night a bowl-headed green man with cool eyebrows paid him a visit and promised to help him pass the final exams!

Lee was desperate for any help he could get, from any source he could get. His career, and practically his whole life, depended on it.

* * *

"Your idea is a bit... unusual."

The only woman in the small room was the first to talk after a rather long and detailed explanation with possible outcomes and hypothetical scenarios by one of the other men in the room.

"Are you mad? This would overthrow the entire established system! When and why did you even come up with this? You are going senile, old man..."

After that rant the bespectacled man didn't manage to return the solemn stare of his teammate.

"You don't seem to be in a good mood, Homura. What's the matter?"

"Nothing." one of the males admitted grudgingly.

After a bit of silence, the most authoritive figure in the room started again. "I don't see a problem but the ones I already listed, and those are unremarkable and not really worthy of notice. The loss would accumulate to a maximum of one untrained, inexperienced team. If this works out, the gain would overreach that by far." He hold his gaze, refusing to let up his pressure.

Homura remained silent.

"Still, it's unusual, you must give us that. The question is still standing: why? It's all working out as it is, isn't it?"

"I see where you are coming from, dear teammate, but all good things come to an end, especially things so fragile as our politics. There are so many threatening things outside and inside our walls, I wouldn't even want to start listing them."

"Do so anyway!" The little moment of distraction was enough for the moody man to regain his bearings.

"Well then, there are always the wayward sannins, one with open hostile intents, the other with intents as murky as the ponds in Earth Country. The other villages will not be always be as easily dominated as they are now, and the Feudal Lords, adjacent to us or even far away, could always be brooding mischief without our knowledge.

For that, I would like to have a few bargaining chips, so to speak, and if this Prototype is to flourish, this method would be just that." His gaze now held, alongside his authority, a certain bit of arrogance. The Hokage continued. "Seriously, what's your problem today? Got up on the wrong side of the bed? I rarely see you so dismantled."

The tiniest bit of rage managed to seethe through his facade, but he managed to catch himself.

"I apologize, I am a bit beside myself."

Sarutobi just nodded, looked over to his other teammate, and again started to talk.

"Do I have your blessings when I present this to the council?" She nodded. "Good, will you also back me up against that ol' bastard?" Another nod.

"Very well, then. We will see each other at the next meeting, then. Could you tell me when it is? My mind isn't the youngest anymore, you know?"

"One month, two days from now. Don't you have an organizer?"

"Oh, I do, but for what do I need to use an organizer when I have the much more lovely alternative, Koharu?"

"Yeah, right.. Now go back to your desk, old man."

* * *

This was all so boring for him. Why would he ever need to disguise himself as a rock on a cliff by a waterfall? Why was it important that the edges of his transformation were shaped in certain angles? Why would he ever disguise himself as a rock?

Most of the lessons at the academy were just like these: unlikely situations, overly analyzed and repeated to make sure everybody understood. Still, he put his whole mind to it, at least for the sake of his clan and heritage; the best marks were expected from a Hyuuga, after all. It didn't change the fact that it bored him, nonetheless.

Written exams, pff... Oh, yes, it sure is vital to know at which angle he has to bend when he wants his tree illusion not to stick out when chased, and being graded for it surely required the skill of a chuunin-level teacher.

Sometimes, the proud Neji thought most of the academy were just voids to fill gaps, somehow cramping up time so Ninja were out of school later, for whatever reasons.

It's was not like his life depended on it, at least not in wartime, he read as much. Then the academy is pumping out Genin in two years of sitting through lessons and revisions. Were these skills only vital when not directly threatened, or what?

Man, he sure wished for something exciting to happen, preferably sometimes soon.

It would at least get him out of his numbing routine.

* * *

"I can't see any reason why we should allow it."

"And I can't see any reason why we shouldn't! Didn't you listen? If everything–"

"IF! Exactly! There is no evidence why it–"

"And no reason why it shouldn't!"

"We are getting no where with this. Let's list advantages and disadvantages to this proposal and have a poll afterwards, just as always." The man with the pineapple head stated that blandly, as if bored.

After a quick affirmation by the collective, a simple flipchart and a permanent marker were taken before the clan heads.

One rather wild-looking woman immediately started chatting.

"Super strong teams!"

"I'll take that as a pro." The Hokage quickly drew a simple table on the flipchart, heading one column with "pro", the other with con, and listed the Inuzuka head's point.

"Possible loss of manpower, possible loss of investments, possible loss of prestige, possible loss of village secrets, possible loss of-"

"So you mean it's just like sending out a regular ninja team?"

A bit of irritated silence, the white-eyed man retaliated. "Yes, but with a higher risk!"

"Pff," she snorted, "You don't even know that!"

"It's proven that overexposure heightens the risk of being spotted, and with that, the risk of fatality!"

"But not when it's in some kind of remote forest, it's not!" The woman grinned triumphant, the man just glared with his pupil-less eyes and malevolence.

Sarutobi simply wrote down possible loss. "Anything else?"

"Possible gain of.... whatever Hyuuga said., only reserved. Write that to pro." The pineapple man piped in again. The snickering of most of the attendants served to mark their approval.

Sarutobi simply wrote down possible gain. "Anything else?"

The Hyuuga clan head slipped his visage into passivity again, he prided himself with the ability to control his emotions, even when interacting with such pests as those... dog people.

"I concede. I will not stand in the way of your -" he was looking for a non-insulting, yet insulting, word, " _progressive_ plans. When do you plan on applying you ideas?"

"One of this years graduating teams will be chosen."

A raised eyebrow was all the enquirer reacted with. A deliberately chose reaction, to portray his emotions in a way he wanted to.

"Alright then, we'll see what happens. Who is for this idea, raise your hands."

Most raised their hands.

"Who is against it?"

One bandaged hand was risen.

"Would you like to explain why, Danzou?"

"Certainly, Nara-san. For one, our traditional system worked for decades and generations, there is no reason to change that tradition. Disrupting with tradition caused terrible havoc in the past, the most recent example with that _demon_ is enough of evidence for that."

This comment caused nervous shuffling in some and a cold stare by one of the oldest persons in the room.

"The lack of proof for the validity of that method is another thing, but the most important matter is, that this whole idea was devised by Sarutobi, and everything that man says cannot and should not be taken as completely valid."

The cold stare dropped another additional degrees.

"When this whole thing comes crashing down on us all, we all know who is to blame."

"Is that all?"

"That is all."

"Has anything changed in your opinions after his *cough* arguments?"

Despite from nervous shuffling by some, none spoke up.

"Alright, so one of this years graduating teams will be chosen. What's the next topic on today's list?"

The biggest man in the room stood up.

"There have been disturbances in some of our restaurants: ..."

* * *

TenTen was a true admirer of art. Her house had quite a few drawings and works of art to decorate the hallways, all noticed but disregarded by most passerbys, but she always loved beholding everything she saw in a picture. She sometimes even spent hours staring at one, sighing for it's beauty.

But then, in most occasions, reality catches up.

Training to be more than perfect in throwing weapons was taxing and required much practice and training, but it was something she was good at. It's not like she liked weapons, or anything, but she was just good at those. She would much rather be an artist-ninja, but that is kinda impossible.

Until the academy elaborated further on seals. The basic ones portrayed were cool enough, she was really fascinated by those, so she dug further into the wide-spread branch of sealing and it's various applications.

If there was a way to mix the thing she was good at and the thing she loved, she would find it.

* * *

The months went by and nothing out of the ordinary happened, the days were filled with a lot of training, sparring and revision for the soon-to-be rookies of Konoha. Only a few more weeks and one other year of the academy would come to a close, some of the students becoming genins, most going back to a few revisions, some quitting being ninja altogether in the hopelessness.

Just like it was last year. Just like it will be next year. There will only be one change this year, and to prepare for that, a few people have gathered in the Hokage's office.

"I understand you know of the upcoming situation?"

"Yes, Master Hokage." The two men in front sitting in front of the Hokage spoke in choir.

"Good, who do you reckon to be the best youngsters for it?"

The man with shoulder-long grey hair began to speak. "I am the main teacher of this years rookies, Iruka helped sometimes with sparring. For one, I'm positive Hyuuga Neji is most fitting for a position on the team. He is extraordinarily smart, has more than good chakra control and a decent reserve. He is unbeaten in hand-to-hand combat, has mastered the techniques required to pass the exam to more than admirable way and his bloodline enables him to spy to some extent. Just like expected from a Hyuuga."

"Even more than that, I have to admit. Sometimes, I find myself surprised by Neji, since I not normally handle so advanced students."

"You have the Uchiha, don't you?" Both traded a look.

"Yeah, but that's different. He usually only does one thing, and that is show of his one trick to beat his underclassed opponents. I'm pretty sure he does more, but I can't really work with that."

"What do you mean, you can't work with that? He is _the_ Uchiha!"

"Yeah, yeah, right. But how am I supposed to teach-"

"Gentlemen, you digress. I don't have all the time in the world."

"We apologize, Master Hokage." Discipline showed clearly through.

"I gather you favor Neji. The other two?"

"Rock Lee." Iruka stated blandly.

"What?! That no talent prick? He is good for nothing!"

"Haven't you seen his progess, lately? He is determined, you must give him that. When motivated by someone like Neji, he will push himself to achieve great things."

"Do you even hear what you're saying? He is a failure, he won't even manage to pass the exams properly!"

"That maybe, but he will exceed in other areas, mostly Taijutsu and most written tests. He is really putting effort into it."

"Alright." The authorative voice silenced any objections Mizuki might have. "The last one?"

"I'm not very sure about that, Master Hokage." Mizuki started again, clearly irritated by his colleague. "The only one left who is outstanding is that TenTen-girl. She can hit targets underhanded, twenty meters away, without even looking, with a unbalanced training kunai.." The Hokage raised his eyebrow. "Well, at least sometimes. Of course, she has seen the target beforehand. And she didn't always hit perfectly... sometimes not at all, but still. Recently, she also took up a keen interest in seals and sealing, it was a bit bewildering, to be honest. I couldn't really help her with that, I am no sealmaster."

The old man looked to the co-teacher.

"Neither am I, sir."

The look persisted.

"Oh, yes, TenTen is outstanding. I recommend her too!" He pressed out a bit sheepishly-

"Well then. I will check further into these suggestions. I already have a teacher in mind for this. What are your thoughts on The Green Beast, Maito Guy?"

Mizuki coughed, he didn't manage to drink his water properly. "THAT GUY? He is retarded."

"Well, I don't know him that well." Iruka threw in defensively, immediately clearing off of that statement.

"I will not have you talking like that about our jounin like that, chuunin."

"I- I apologize, Master Hokage, I spoke wrongly."

"Guy will be notified, you will pay an acceptable fine, you will not repeat that mistake in my company again."

"Yes, Master Hokage. I apologize. I will do as you ask"

"Good, what are your thoughts, Iruka?" Mizuki was still a bit downtrodden and analyzed his shoe laces deeply.

"Guy sure is determined and willing to teach. He is more than capable to defend his students. But, with all due respect, he is a bit... weird."

"That is of no matter. Do you concede?"

"Yes, Master Hokage. Guy might be a good choice."

The old man with the hat nodded. "Mizuki, this will have consequences. You are dismissed."

Both got up and went out the room.

* * *

The exams came closer rapidly and passed just as fast. Nothing really exciting happened, everything was predicted correctly by the higher-ups.

The teams were chosen, but one was destined to be special.

* * *

_AN:_ That's it for the first chapter and my clumsy attempts at writing. What do you think? Hit that "Review"-button until either of you becomes sore.

Some dialogue parts and the entire TenTen-scene feel a bit clunky, I think.

See you next time


	2. Chapter 2

Still don't own it.

**Chapter 2**

To be teamed up with both, top and bottom of the class, was a bit unexpected for the only female on the official "Team Guy", probably dubbed after their upcoming tutor. Currently, the three trainees were seated in their old classroom, along with the rest of their classmates, and waited for their teacher.

The long haired pretty-boy, for whom she still needed a proper nickname, stared vacantly out of the window, lost in some thought, her other teammate couldn't stop shifting and shuffling, just couldn't find a rest.

Neji turned his head and projected a downbearing stare at his companion. "Stop that."

Lee just seemed a little confused

"Just sit still, you annoy me."

"Oh, I'm sorry! I will make sure to not repeat my mistakes!"

With a drawn-out sigh, Neji shifted his gaze to his other teammate. "Something isn't right." A dramatical pause. "Mizuki seemed almost giddy when he announced our team. I'm very sure we will receive some kind of special treatment."

"Oh? What do you mean?" A dramatical pause.

Which warped itself into an awkward pause.

"Err..."

"I meant what I said – something will happen."

"Something? Very informative..."

"I will take on everything which is thrown my way and come out for the better!"

"THAT IS THE RIGHT ATTITUDE!" A very dynamic entry, accompanied by a loud, booming voice broke the flow of their conversation, or the flow of – everything in this room.

"I'M MAITO GUY! YOU WILL THREE WILL COME WITH ME TO THE ROOF!" After a clearly overdone pose in the three's general direction, he disappeared as abruptly as he came.

"Aright! Up to the roof!"

"Lee! Wait!"

"I- I don't know what to say. Was that our teacher?"

"That was Maito Guy, Neji! Our teacher! Let's go!"

Lee took of to the stairs and was on his way to his mentor.

The other two were, comparably, a lot more reluctant, but made their way to the roof anyway.

* * *

"His reaction was almost too transparent, don't you think?"

"That's Maito Guy, burning with determination, and making sure everybody he knows knows it. That's why he is perfect for this job, he won't back down."

"How long is this supposed to go on, anyway?"

"As long as it has to."

"Could you be a little less cryptic, for once? Not everyone can follow your crazy thoughts."

"Are you in such a bad mood again, Homura? For whatever reason? Does this whole topic simply irk you?"

"Just tell us what you mean, Sarutobi..."

"Alright, alright. We will keep in contact with them and call on them whenever we need them. It might be in three months, or it might be in 3 years. They will simply remain dormant."

"Yes, yes, you explained that with the very first time you told us of your idea. But don't you have any particular date in mind?"

"No."

"No?"

"Exactly, no."

"You're going senile, old man. But I'll still trust your judgement."

* * *

The short march upwards felt longer than it should have felt, but uncomfortable silences tempt to do that to a lot of things.

No words were exchanged between the two, both unsure what lay ahead of them. Lee was already on top of the building; no wonder when he was running the whole way.

When they arrived they found their teammate as giddy as always, portraying his unrest on a bench in front of their teacher. Both sat down next to him, as far away as there was space.

"ALRIGHT! INTRODUCTION TIME! WHO WANTS TO START?"

"Here! I want to! My name is Rock Lee, I--"

"This is ridiculous." The irritated, still quiet, no-nonsense statement managed to draw all the attention and stilled the hyper boy. "You know who we are, we know each other. The only stranger in here is you, teacher."

Neji appeared to be quite a generator for uncomfortable silences.

"Okay then. I will introduce myself, if you insist." His voice lost volume, Neji took his momentum.

"My name is Maito Guy, I am a jounin-ranked ninja and you are my third genin-team. I am sure you already know there is no guarantee for you to become actual ninja, so I will need to test you. But first I would like to hear your motivations to become a ninja. Neji starts."

The bright-eyed boy kept his teacher fixated. "My clan forces me to undertake an extended combat training." He was not going to reveal anymore.

"Good, you next." He looked to his other male pupil.

"I want to become a ninja to be strong! I will prove everyone that you don't need to use ninjutsu and genjutsu to be great! I will prove everyone I am not a failure!"

"Good, the last one." His eyes went to TenTen.

"Err, I want to be a great female ninja, just like the legendary sannin, Tsunade! Also, my dad wants me to become a ninja, I guess."

Guy knew all that, of course. "Then, on to the test you. Meet me tomorrow morning at eight in front of the north gates, pack up for a field trip!" And he was gone.

"A field trip?"

"He didn't tell us how long it will last." One of the boys facepalmed.

"Yay! A fieldtrip! I will pack and go to bed immediately!" He almost wanted to leave when a strong hand shoved him back down.

"We will first need to discuss who will pack what."

"Oh, right. 'Information is vital'; they taught us that in the academy!"

"Well, I think we will need a tent, a pan and some food."

"Yes. But don't overdo it, we mustn't overpack ourselves. I will take one triangle tarpaulins, Lee will take the other-"

"But I don't even have one!"

Neji again proved his prowess as a silence-generator.

"Then come with me before you go home, I will give you one of mine."

"Okay, then."

"What am I supposed to pack?" TenTen submitted to the impromptu leader.

"Like you said, you pack rice, a pan and a pot. All will pack only one set of spare clothing and a sleeping bag. I am certain we won't lose too much mobility that way. See you tomorrow, TenTen. Lee, come with me."

TenTen went off alone, Lee strolled alongside Neji in the direction of the Hyuuga-compound.

* * *

"Just as planned."

"Yes, those guys are rather predictable, aren't they?"

"I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing. Regardless, the choices are fitting, the harmony is coming along nicely. Well, at least at first glance."

"Where exactly do you want to take them?"

"Just outside, into the woods."

"And what are you planning to do to them?"

"Oh, a bit of sabotage, I want to stress them. In the end they will fight me, to see if they're able to adapt and work together."

"But why do you even take them on a field trip?"

"Oh, I want to stress those three out. Especially that bratty Neji..."

"Yeah, I don't really like him, either."

Guy just gave Mizuki a strange look.

"You don't like your pupil?"

"Err, of course I do!"

The look persisted. "I don't like YOU Mizuki. When those three lack any essentials, I will hold you recountable."

"But-" - Mizuki was silenced by the sudden departure of his conversation partner.

* * *

"Woah, your house is really big, Neji!"

"That's not only a house. It's a clan estate. You should know as much."

"Yeah, but I had no idea it was so huge!"

"Doesn't matter. Let's go inside. I will have to report to my superiors and explain the situation. You will wait outside the room until I come back."

They both went inside and made a beeline across the yard, Neji greeting a few clan member with a small nod. Lee was stared after with curiosity; it wasn't usual for outsiders to come with branch members into the estate.

The boys stopped at a plain door and Neji knocked.

"Who is it?" A almost annoyed voice came from inside.

"Branch member Neji; I want to report in."

"Ah, Neji, I expected you, come in."

Before he opened the door he hissed to his teammate "Wait here, don't do anything stupid."

When he was inside the room, Lee sat down stiffly, clearly uncomfortable.

A bit of time passed, when a small girl approached the boy sitting before the clan head's door. "You! Who are you, what are you doing here?"

"I- I am sorry! I am Rock Lee, I came here with Neji!"

"And why?" Despite being small, the girl managed to put quite a bit of authority into her diminutive voice.

"I want to take a tarpau- a tarpaule... Something for a tent!"

"So you want to steal?" The girl dropped into a combat stance.

"N- NO! Of course not! I just don't have one, and we need one, so Neji wanted to give me one!"

"I don't believe you. Prepare yourself!"

She almost launched herself at the unsuspecting, unprepared, unable boy when the same voice from before stopped her.

"Hanabi."

Now Lee wasn't the only one nervous anymore. "Y- Yes, father?"

"Stop making trouble, you give our clan a bad name. Apologize and come inside."

"Yes, father! I'm sorry, Rock Lee." She hurried past him, not honouring him with another look, went inside the room and closed the door behind her.

Lee was more than a bit bewildered.

* * *

"Ah, TenTen, you're home! Already done your first mission?"

"I've been here for two hours, dad, and no, I'm not even an official genin."

"You are not? Oh, okay. I just thought when you passed you exams you became one."

"No, and I told you that, dad."

"Okay..."

TenTen continued sharpening her throwing knives, her father was still waiting in the treshold.

"So, what did you do instead?"

TenTen sighed. "I got my team, my teacher and will go on a fieldtrip tomorrow."

"A field trip? I didn't know about that!"

"Neither did I, dad." TenTen was not very informative, she found her knives to be more interesting.

"Hey, I am talking to you!"

"What is it?"

"I demand some respect, I am your father, after all! When will you leave?"

"Tomorrow morning, I will meet my team at eight. You will still be asleep by then."

"And when will you be back?"

"I have no idea yet, my teacher didn't tell me."

"Oh."

"Yes, 'Oh'."

"So you won't be here tomorrow.."

"Right."

"Okay, then get up and give you daddy a hug for goodbye, girl!"

TenTen got up and gave him a hug. "Goodbye, dad. See you later."

Her father smiled, left the room and left her to her ninja-stuff.

* * *

"So, what was this all about, Hanabi?"

Hanabi sat herself next to her cousin, in front of a simple table, opposite to her father.

"That boy outside wanted to steal something – for a tent, he said."

"He didn't want to steal anything. I wanted to lend him a tarpaulin; he doesn't seem to have one."

"I will allow that. You will take the other, then, I figure."

"Yes, Uncle."

"Well, then. Back to our previous topic. Where was I again?"

"You told me about the extended trainings trip, as some kind of prototype to test the method."

"Ah, yes. I think your team, if you pass your test, will be the one to go on this trainings regime."

Neji raised his eyebrow. "If I may ask; why? Why us and why is this necessary in the first place?"

"The senile old kook is certain the benefits of such a team a greater than the deficits. We will see about that. You were chose because you were simply available."

"What am I supposed to do?"

"You will, of course, do your best to prove him right, Neji. If his proposals hold some truth the village and our clan will come out stronger, especially when one of our member is part of it."

_'Yeah, right, as long as it's a branch member risking his life.'_

"You seem upset. What's wrong?"

"Oh, nothing, uncle. I was just... just thinking that this is a... an interesting idea." This cover-up was futile, and Neji knew it. He was sure Hiashi was able to read his intention, even if he barely twitched a muscle in his face.

"Do you have any more questions?"

The young Hyuuga scolded himself into solemnity and passivity again. "Yes, how exactly is this different from a regular team?"

"Oh, a regular team still has privacy and doesn't spend all it's time training, like you will do. Most of the time they will do D-Rank missions, to 'improve teamwork', or rather fortifying the regular peasants trust in the ninja-government. A regular team usually also has a sane teacher, a quality Maito Guy lacks. He will push you to your limits and beyond, some of his students already succumbed to the stress and either quit or overworked themselves. You will do neither; you will take everything and overcome every obstacle, for the sake of our glorious clan."

Neji's eye twitched again, the same traitorous thoughts from before coming through again.

"Anything else, Neji?"

"No, uncle."

"Then you are dismissed. Pack up and get your teammate whatever he wanted."

Neji stood up and left.

"You seem eager to fight, Hanabi. Maybe we should -"

Neji left the room and closed the door behind him.

* * *

Lee sprung up as he saw his teammate, visibly stressed.

"Come with me." the resident grunted out.

Lee followed without a word.

At least for the first few metres. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, be quiet. I'll get you your tarpaulin and then you will leave."

"You can tell me! I'm sure I can somehow help!"

"Just shut up. This doesn't concern you."

"But-"

"We are here." Neji opened a door and walked into the storage room. He turned left, then right, then straightforward.

"Woah, all this stuff in here!"

"It's sufficient to serve the entire clan. Here, take this."

He loaded a tightly packed tarpaulin on the other boy's outstretched arms. "Make sure you don't fold it open. I doubt you will be able to pack it any more efficiently as it is now."

"Alright! Is that all?"

"Yes, I will take another one, this will be enough for us three. I will see you outside."

The little walk seemed to have calmed Neji down again, he looked just like he always did again. Neji wished him goodbye, went back inside and headed to his room to pack.

* * *

Lee did the same once he reached his home.

The night passed uneventfully, but for some teens, sleep wouldn't come properly.

They were just so nervous, they didn't know what to expect from their jounin-teacher.

Two of three members of the respective 'Team Guy' slept like a rock. Lee was too determined to miss his much needed sleep, Neji wasn't as affected by the nervousness.

TenTen was, however. Instead of resting in sleeping bliss, she tossed around in her bed all night, thinking. She was sure that she would pass the test, but was that really what she wanted?

Did she really want to become a ninja, a killing machine for people she didn't even know properly?

It wasn't her decision to become a ninja, her father pressured her to enroll into the academy, and as a eight year old girl, she was swayed by the supposed action she was bound to receive. But was she really ready to kill someone? To end someone else's life, not even knowing if they really deserved to die?

All these questions came up in the academy once. They were simply answered with "Your opponents are a threat to you and our village." and "They would do the same to you." alongside with "Mercy will be exploited by your enemy."

She didn't feel comfortable with these explanations then and didn't feel so now.

Why couldn't she just become an artist? That would be cooler.

But of course, she had obligations, to her father, her village and her team. She couldn't just leave them hanging! Maybe it wouldn't be too bad, after all. It could even be fun!

'Fun' and 'ninja' didn't mix.

All of the night was filled with her inner turmoil.

* * *

Neji ate, showered and wished his goodbyes, then went off to to north gates a little early to be there on time. Always better to be a little early than too late.

He bought an apple at an local grocery store, he still had enough time to get there comfortably.

_'Why do we meet so late in the day, anyway? I would have imagined a ninja to leave earlier.'_

When he arrived, Lee and TenTen were already there, the girl clearly agitated by her other teammates antics.

Lee performed various exercises, ranging from crunches to push-ups, from squats to chin-ups at a nearby tree.

"Lee, don't waste your energy. It's not going to help."

"Oh, good morning Neji!"

"Hey..." TenTen was not only agitated, but not nearly as motivated as Lee.

"You don't look good, TenTen, almost like you didn't sleep. What's the matter?"

"Oh, nothing." She looked away, Neji let it pass by.

"I can't wait for Guy to get here! What time is it?"

Nobody cared enough to answer, Neji sat down by the tree and ate the remnants of his apple.

With a loud yell and a ridiculous pose, their teacher arrived. "ALRIGHT! YOU'RE ALL HERE! FOLLOW ME!" and he ran off outside the gate.

"Yeah!" Lee collected his bearings and was the first to follow.

Neji and TenTen only got up reluctantly and had to hurry to catch up.

* * *

**AN:** Chapter two done, still would like to hear what you think. The action will start soon, don't fret, I think establishing this whole thing is more important.

Please review, tell me what you like and dislike; especially about the dialogues. I am not sure if they're any good, but I did put some effort into writing these.

Thanks to GoldenDragonClouds for being my first reviewer.

This website keeps on eating my cool scene-change lines :/ Is there another way instead of inserting them in the online document editor? I'm using OpenOffice 2.4


	3. Chapter 3

Running around, dodging trees, jumping over obstacles.

This whole trip felt more like a high-speed chase, rather than a simple walk to... wherever they were going. TenTen sure hoped she wasn't the only one who has lost her sense of direction, that would be really embarrassing.

On the other hand, someone better has had remembered it, or they wouldn't even be able to go back!

The sound of heavy breathing easily drowned the remainders of the not yet frightened critters' noises, which robbed the forest of it's whole forest-y ambience. Not that she cared, she was more concerned with running and remembering the basic breathing exercises she was once taught.

'Into the abdomen, and out with pressure' was the rule of thumb hammered into their brain over and over again. It came to her almost automatically.

_'Man, my legs are getting heavy'_

She wondered if, maybe, she was carrying the biggest load. She was the one in the rear, Neji was running alongside Lee now, and both of them were only a few steps away from their teacher, barely visible in the brush.

She now realized why he was wearing green.

Her legs felt like stones, only they hurt her constantly. She was nearing her limit, she has never run so far in her entire life. Jumping was getting more difficult, she almost tripped over a rock. Her eyes were getting blurry, some parts of her surrounding were getting indistinguishable.

For example the the big, green tree she was currently headed for...?!

She immediately tried to slow down, but such momentum wasn't easily stopped. The came ever closer, and even stretched out its branches! Her heart was pumping like mad, and why were her two teammates just standing there?!

Standing sure seemed like a good idea now, a break even better, a rest almost divine.

She stopped, instantly bent over and took in big gulps of air. When she caught her breathing and reduced it to simple panting she looked up into the smiling face of her green teacher.

"You need to work on your stamina." Nothing more than a grumble, only audible to her.

"ALL RIGHT! WE'RE ALL HERE! SET UP CAMP, I WILL COME BACK LATER!" Nothing less than a yell, only audible to... probably the whole forest.

He left again, without any other word or instruction.

"Water!" was the only thing she managed to shout out and, at the moment, the only thing on the girls mind.

She saw something bright moving at the edge of her vision and a had a canteen held in front of her face moments later.

"Take it. Didn't you bring your own?" There was clearly a strain to mask his exhaustion.

She opened up the canteen, drank to her content and responded. "I did, but it's in my backpack." Despite her panting, she still managed to take another sip and returned the bottle to her teammate; Neji, as she just now realized.. "Thank you!"

He took it back, nodded and turned around to check on Lee, who hasn't really caught his breath either but struggled to set up the tent regardless.

_'Phew'_

* * *

He had no idea how to do it.

"You're doing it wrong" was the unneeded affirmation to that.

"You're right. Can you help me, Neji?"

"Wait, I'll go fetch the other tarpaulin." and so Lee did just what he was told; wait for him without moving much of a muscle.

Meanwhile, he managed to catch his breath. _'I need to be a better runner! I must train more!'_

Neji came back with the second tarpaulin and spread it out next to the first one. "We need ten small sticks and one about this size." To demonstrate, he spread his arms for about two feet.

"Oh, right! We'll use the ten as tent pegs, right? And the big one as..."

-"as the pole, yes."

"Good! I'll go look for some!" and the energetic boy jogged away.

After a sigh, Neji looked over to TenTen, still rooted to the ground.

"TenTen, have you heard?" His raised voice struck her out of her stupor.

"Y-Yeah! Should I go look for some sticks, too?"

"Yes, but you better look for some firewood."

"Alright, I'll hurry!" and she was off as well.

So Neji was alone, only the shuffling of his teammates stumbling around and the neverending chirps of the birds to disturb him. He strolled over to the tents, sat down and buried his face in his hands to dispel the oncoming headache; unfortunately without real success.

He made two quick hand seals and activated his bloodline.

Guy took out a notepad and pen from his knife pouch relaxedly. He wasn't in the least worried to be found in his vantage point all the way up here in a tree bordering on the clearing his aspirants have set up camp.

On the front it read 'TenTen', right under that was written 'Girl – handle carefully'.

His gaze turned skywards and he started reminiscing on the past with a sigh. _'Hmm.'_

The first team he trained started out as a disaster. He had no clue of decency, no idea of privacy; but what could you expect from a man trained for war, fully counted on to die somewhere at the front, like so many others. When he pushed through and missions became scarce, he was forced upon his first team of Genin, a bit younger than the children he was entrusted with.

But, well.. not to digress too far, if someone was to learn from past's mistakes, it's Guy!

So he eagerly flipped open the notepad and started writing.

_'Needs intensive stamina training, can't keep up.'_

_'Loses focus when stressed, need to confront.'_

_'Submissive to (rational) orders'_

_'Dressed inappropriately, need to suggest better.'_

He really had no idea what a skirt had to do in a ninja's wardrobe, but he was looking forward working on her!

The next notepad he took out read 'Neji'.

_'Leader-type'_

_'Cool headed'_

_'In surprisingly good shape'_

_'Prone to headaches (?)'_

Almost all of it were positive attributes, a real prodigy he got himself there. He hoped Neji was willing to learn anyway.

The third notepad was "Lee"'s.

_'Has been working on himself'_

_'Energetic'_

_'Submissive to (rational) orders'_

_'Very willing'_

Eager and compliant, perfect to teach!

He put the notepads away, and looked down to the clearing. Nothing much has changed, two of the tree were still scrubbing wood, the third was sitting still and looked around.

So he just needed to wait now.

* * *

"Welcome to this weeks council meeting. Let's get through today's items ASAP, my wife is bugging me again. Is everybody here?" Shikaku Nara let his eyes swipe over the ranks. "Seems that way. Any authorized observers without voting rights here?" His eyes instantly went to the row in the back to confirm his suspicion. After an obligatory sigh, he addressed the man. "Danzou. Any reasons for being here.... again?"

"I have a right to be here. I deserver to know what's going on. I need to keep the village strong! I have no idea what devil possessed you when you banished me from the council, and I seek to ex-" He was silenced by a shadow creeping over his mouth. A clever variation of the Nara clan's Neck Bind Technique.

"We can remove you from this room whenever-" The shock of two flashes whizzing by the handicapped man and a third ninja – because anyone using chakra to break jutsus should be called a ninja – silenced him as well.

The two other ninja – because anyone using chakra to move that fast should be called a ninja – made a beeline to the aggressor. They passed unharmed by the villages clan heads, just as startled as the head of the meeting. Both came ever closer, nothing seemingly able to stop them and unsheathed their swords to deliver incredibly amounts of pain to whoever stood on the wrong end of it. Both raised their weapon simultaneously, drawing closer to striking distance every tiniest fracture of a second. Their heavy boots made the typical running sound of a ninja boot, all resonances coming at the same time.

For Shikaku, there was nothing but the masked figures in front of him an the clunks of their boots, he couldn't think of a way to defend himself, so he just raised his arms for a futile attempt to block the incoming doom.

He was getting ready for the pain, the slash – he practically anticipated it.

_  
Clunk_

Metal met metal.

The swords were stopped by some ANBU, probably guards of the Hokage. He didn't even know those were in the room, only sparsely thought of the possibility of it. But that didn't matter now, the two other ANBU-wannabes were of a more pressing concern to him.

Or weren't. Both were subdued by the enormous Choza, his former comrade, with two expanded palms. _'He always was one to save his friends.'_

Danzou spoke up again to dissolve the chaos. "With this, I'm proud to officially present my Root_,_ the elite soldiers trained by myself. Even though their first appearance was a bit..." He looked over to Choza, then to where he suspected the Hokage's guards have disappeared to, "less glorious than I hoped, it still left a mark on you."

He took a step forward, the one who disrupted the Neck Bind before, followed every move.

"Each one of my soldiers is of greater quality than anything the Hokage's ANBU can muster. Th-"

"A bold claim..." A murmur was enough to interrupt him.

Danzou's eye was fixated on the source of it, they settled on the village's leader like a hawk. "Ah, Sarutobi. It was you who demanded my abolition of the council, right? Well, I think this may have changed things. As the head of the Root organization, I now hold enough influence and power to hold a proper position in this council."

"This is not mine to decide." The wrinkled old man's now tired eyes swept to the head of the council, Shikaku Nara. "I suggest you remove this unauthorized guest and his subordinates right now. I also suggest to make this event a subject of next weeks meeting."

Shikaku was still visibly troubled by the impending attack. He simply nodded while breathing heavily and addressed Danzou directly. "I wish you to leave."

"This is outrageous! I will not have this! I demand the right to speak in front of you!"

"The right was not granted. - I wish you to leave"

"You have no reasons for this! After my presentation of power, I deserve to-"

"I wish you to leave."

Danzou knew, the third time was interminable. If he didn't leave now, the ANBU reserves would be called and he would be killed on sight.

"Well then, I am leaving. But mark my words, this whole thing will have consequences."

He left, the two captive Root_-_ninja somehow managed to free themselves of the heavy grip (and apparently without any major problems!) and strolled after their leader.

They waited until he was gone, no trace of him left, not even his heavy footsteps audible to them.

After the harrumph of the Hyuuga clan head, Shikaku resumed the meeting.

* * *

Neji thoroughly scouted the area. One of the positive things about having the Byakugan was that there wasn't a necessity to move around to scout, something his aching legs welcomed dearly.

To sum up, he found a river flowing by gently, just a small walk away from here and also loads of animal dens. If they were to hunt, they would have problems not stumbling over some rabbit's hole, and getting a buck from the calm herd nearby shouldn't prove to difficult either. The woods were, apart from that, pretty much normal. He couldn't make even the slightest guess as to why Guy chose such a place.

The closing form of Lee took him off his musings, so he got up to inspect his sticks and set up the tent.

"Neji! I found the perfect tent pegs!"

"Show them." He stretched his hand out and Lee gave them up willingly. After a moment, Neji simply nodded.

"Yes, this will work nicely. Did you bring a pole as well?"

"A what? OH! A pole? Sorry, forgot that." The sheepish reply almost brought back his headache. He closed his eyes and put his thumb and index finger on the bridge of his nose.

"Didn't I tell you to bring that too?"

"Well yeah.. kinda.. I got it! I will hurry twice as much and bring you one!" The always so very eager boy turned around and jogged into the direction he came from.

A moment later, just enough of a moment to wonder about the girl on his team and consider using his eyes again to look for her, Lee returned to Neji.

"This is the perfect pole, right?" He held the long stick dangerously close to the other boy's eyes, so he could inspect it better!

"Yeah, yeah. This will do." Neji was already losing his patience. Putting up with his menace would require quite a bit of adapting, hopefully on both sides.

"We will need to wait for TenTen to return with the firewood. I don't want to ram unhardened wood into the ground."

"Oh, I get it! We will hold the pegs over the fire to make them better!"

"Yes, exactly. Wait a second, I will look for TenTen." Two familiar seals later, veins and arteries were clearly visible near his eyes.

"Woah" was a comment by Lee Neji hardly noticed. After a bit of searching, Neji located their lost comrade, stumbling through the underwoods.

"Stay here, look for stones. I'll go get her." and without further ado, the spotter took of into the direction of the spotted. Whatever Lee shouted, he ignored.

* * *

Guy wasn't really impressed by the performance of his female pupil. When he noticed she didn't come back in a appropriate time frame, he went looking for her, which proved to be easy. The girl didn't conceal her footprints in the least, something he ought to add to his notepad.

When he found her she was carrying a big pile of wood, probably the firewood, around, clearly enough to get the team through the night.

She wasn't heading back to their camp site, though. He decided to let her wander a bit, but when she didn't go back on her own, he would do... something he had yet to think of.

After a while he felt another source of chakra approaching, something he could clearly specify as a Hyuuga's. He was sure it was Neji, coming to fetch her.

* * *

He was right. Neji closed in on the unsuspecting girl, who was still too distracted by her surroundings to really take notice of the boy, so Neji announced himself.

"TenTen" was the only warning he uttered when he came closer. The clearly surprised female dropped the wood, spun around, threw a hardly aimed kunai into the perpetrators general direction and held a second one in front of her in a basic defensive stance.

Not long after the thrown knife lodged itself into a tree, she realized it was only Neji.

"Oh, it's you. Hey, sorry I didn't come back, but I-"

"What are you doing? Are you trying to kill me?" There was a bit of aggression in his voice, but the omnipresent passivity of the stereotypical Hyuuga persisted.

"No, of course not! That was just some.. reflex, you know?"

"A reflex? You almost threw knife into my eye because of a reflex? What were you doing here to begin with?"

"Err, well, like I wanted to tell you, before you cut me off, jackass, I wanted to look around a bit."

"Didn't I tell you to simply bring firewood?"

"Yeah, but who are you to order me around anyway?"

"I'm the most suitable to lead this cell in the absence of our teacher."

"This 'cell'? We aren't even proper ninja yet, you know that!"

"That doesn't matter. If I give you an order, you will follow it. Bringing firewood was the most logical thing to do."

"Oh, yeah, some cozy campfire is more important than knowing where the f*ck we are, right? Geez, man.."

"I already did some scouting."

"You did?"

"Yes, I used my bloodline limit to look around. I will report my findings back at the camp." He looked to the sticks on the ground. "Is that the firewood?"

"Err, yes. Yes it is."

"Seems alright." He turned around, dislodged the kunai in the tree and passed it back to her. "Let's go back to the camp."

On their way back, TenTen felt more and more uncomfortable in their silence, so she decided to break it.

"Hey, look, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to attack you."

"I accept you apology. No harm done." How he always managed to keep his tone so monotonous, TenTen didn't know. Probably was some kind of family secret, like their fancy taijutsu form.

"But, I mean, you can't just order me around, you know? It's not like-"

"Let's talk about it with Lee, I am sure he has something to say about this as well."

The indignation was clearly visible on TenTen's face, which Neji could still see with his activated bloodline limit. He hadn't turned it off to not lose the way to their camp, but spying on his teammates reaction was an added bonus.

"We're almost there." was all the affirmation needed.

* * *

When both returned to the clearing with their not erected tent, the first thing TenTen noticed was Lee in front of a little wall of stones, all varying in their sizes, from rubble to solid rocks. She frowned in confusion.

"We will only need the bigger ones, Lee." The self-proclaimed leader went over to his male teammate and took some of the bigger stones. "We will now lay a simple circle to prevent a wildfire. TenTen, take out your pot and bottle. I will go get some water." He finished the circle with Lee's help and expected to get a bottle and a pot, but only received a cold stare.

"We will talk _after_ we set up. Lee, go get some dry grass from over there and lay it inside the circle."

"I'm on my way!"

"TenTen, I need the bottle and the pot."

She reluctantly went over to her backpack and unpacked her stuff, gave it to Neji and watched him take off without saying anything.

"That guy's impossible, don't you think?"

Lee looked up from his very mindtaxing activity of putting grass into a circle and responded. "Who, Neji?"

"Of course Neji! Who does he think he is, ordering us around. I mean, c'mon! He isn't better than us or anything!"

"I like him. He is smart and strong, and what he says makes sense. Well, to me at least. Do you have problems with him?"

"You _like_ him? But he just told you to put some f*cking grass into a f*cking circle of stones! He belittles you!"

"It has to be done, and there is no reason why I shouldn't do it."

"But he could just as well...."

"What? He is the only one right now who knows where to get water."

"That's what I mean! He doesn't even tell us anything!"

"He doesn't really have to, has he? What difference does it make if you, he, of I take the water?"

"Oh, man! Are you serious?"

Lee stood up now. "I'm always serious! I will prove my worth!" His ambition gleamed in his round eyes.

"Ugh!" was the unspectacular end to their argument, and TenTen turned around to take a look at the sticks Lee brought.

* * *

_'Curious, curious.'_

Guy pondered on his vantage point.

_'So, when should I drop the bomb?'  
_

* * *

AN: chapter three, done! Review me, and I will explode into a veil of creativity. Reviews are like my muses' breakfast.

Hope you enjoy my scribblings so far.


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